Plaiting machine



Dec. l2, E939, A. GERMAIN PLAITING MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l D@ l2, 1939. A. GERMAIN FLAITING MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y.Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATEEN'I OFFICE,

PLArrING MACH'In-i: Albert Germain, Haverhill, Mass. y ApplicationDecember 17, 1938, Serial No; 246,368

11' Claims.

This invention relates to a machine` which is particularly designed to form plaits in heavier sheetv material, such. as upper leather', and in which it is-not desired that the plait'sbe secured by stitches.

The present trend of shoe styles callsl for the formation of plaits` in a large varietysofways,v in Various parts of shoe uppers-and, so far asvIl am aware,.plaitingmachines or attachmentsvto sewhave previously been produced are unsuitable for the purpose.

The object of my invention is toi provide a machine whichV is adapted to form plaits in'upper leather without lthe use of sewingv mechanism,v and. with which the plaits may be rapidly. formed invarious Ways.

A further object is to provide a machinewhi'ch may be readily modified. by makingaY certain 2,0 changesl in some ofthe parts thereof to enable the formation A of double or box plaits, aswellas single plaitsf. f

I accomplish these objects by providing a vertically disposed bending member which operates in conjunction with a pair of press-rolls disposed at opposite sides thereof and which together-form the initial fold or folds, togetherl witha presser foot which presses theffold dat vand a press roll which sets the fold in plaited form, the back, or v' iiesh side of the material having been previously coated with an adhesive. When the folds are pressed together they will adhere, so that the plait thus. formed will be retained in the form into which it has been pressed. For a more complete disclosure of my invention, reference is now made to thefollowing specication, in connection with the accompanying drawings-in which:

Fig. 1 isa front elevation of a machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View, on an enlarged scale, taken at line 2 2 of Fig. 1. f

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of the folder adjusting means.

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of the forming roll holding means.

Fig. 5 is a detail View of the press roll. Fig. 6 is a detail View of the plait bending means. Fig. '7` is a detail plan view of a portion of the machine table. I

Figs. 8, 9 and l0 are detail views showing different stages of the plait forming operation.A

Fig. 1l is a detail sectionalview of one of the forming rolls.

ing machine for forming plaits in cloth' which (Cl. 12-51) v Figs. 12, 13 and 14- aredetail views of a modified form of the invention employed in the formation of box plaits.

Fig. l5is a detailview illustrating use of the machine to form any upright rib.

Fig. 16 is aI perspective view illustrating the work performed onl avamp piece.

Fig. 1'? is a detail view of the'forming rolls in lraised and separated position for the introduction of the work. I

In the drawings a table; or base member 20 is provided having a rigid arm 22, inthe base portion of which a drive shaft 24 is mounted, means being provided for driving the same iny one direction. As illustrated in dotted lines, shaft 24, acting thru bevel gears, drives a worm shaft 2S, which Iis in mesh with a worm gear 2,7 on a shaft 28, extending horizontally beneath the table and on the end of which a feed roll 39 is secured. A gear 3Zonshaft 28` engages an idle gear 33 which in turn engages a gear .Mon a shaft 36, arranged in parallel with shaft 28. A second feed roll 3B is mounted on shaft 3G' at a suitable distance from, and directly in the rear of roll 3, so that, when shaft Z8 is driven, both feed rolls will act to feed the 4work rearwardly.

For the formation of a single plait,.I provide a bending plate Il@ which extends vertically above the table in front of the front feed rolll 30 and adjacent thereto, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and '7, said: plate consisting of thin at metal having a roundedf horizontal topedge, so thatit will not out` the leather which is drawn thereover, and beingmounted on a rackbar 4 I, which is vertically slidable in a holder 42 mounted beneath the table. An adjustingfscrew 44 has a swiveled connection with the. table and is threaded in a lug d5 on the holder 42, by means of which the entire holder with the plateo, which it carries, may be adjusted forwardly or reawardly. A shaft 46 is journaledin holder 42 and has a pinion 41 thereon which is arranged in mesh with the rack 4l, by means of which the plate Ml may be raised or lowered. Thescrew M and shaft 46 each have lhandles on the front of the machine so that the 'plate 4i] may be conveniently adjusted either forwardly orrearwardly, or raised or lowered. Locking screws are provided for holding screw 4d' and shaft 4B in any position to Which they may be adjusted. As shown -in Fig. 2, plate 4Q has a rearwardly extending portion 4G which is adaptedtoextend over the yfeed ro1l3J.

As shown in Figs. l, 2 and 4, a pair of truncoconically shaped forming rolls Eil, 52. are mounted to. rotate `freely on` shafts secured( in4 pvoted levers 5 I, 53 respectively, said levers being mounted on pivots 54 which are carried by a vertically sliding bar 56, the latter being mounted in the end of arm 22. Said bar 56 is normally forced down to the position shown by a spring 58, and is adapted to be lifted by a lever Bil, pivoted on arm 22, lever 6l] being adapted to be operated by a rod 6|, which is connected to a foot treadle (not shown). Said levers 5I, 53 extend horizontally rearward and have an interposed spring 62 acting thereon to press said rolls together. The rolls 50, 52 are held with their ends of greater diameter next to the table and with their axes inclined towards each other, so that they are held in rolling contact for practically their entire lengths, the line in which they are in rolling contact being vertical and being located in the plane of the plate 40 directly in the rear thereof, and in proximity thereto. The right-hand roll 52 has a shield 64 on its lower end which is fixed on the shaft on which the roll is mounted, as shown in Fig. ll, for a purpose to be explained.

A presser foot 66 is mounted on the bar 55 directly in the rear of the rolls 50, 52 (see Fig. 2), said arm having a foot 6l on its lower end, the surface of which is slightly upwardly inclined from the horizontal, as shown in Fig. 6. A press roll 68 is mounted on a shaft 69 supported in the lower end of a bar '18, said bar being mounted in a groove in the bar 56 and secured thereto by a bolt 'Il which passes thru a. slot therein permitting a slight vertical adjustment. The roll 68 is located directly over the rear feed roll 38, so that it may act to press the work thereon.

A pair of rigid fingers l5 are fixed on the arm 22 and depend vertically therefrom and each finger has an inclined face T6 at its lower end, so arranged that, when the bar 58 is raised by lever 60 the levers 5l, 53 will be lifted, and their outer sides, at their rear ends will engage the inclined faces 16, with the result that the levers will be swung towards each other against the action of spring B2, and moved to the dotted line positions of Fig. 4. The rolls 50, 52 will thus be both raised and separated and held in the position shown on Fig. 17, when the rod 6l is drawn down by the foot treadle.

Immediately before the plaiting operation is to be performed on a piece of leather, or other sheet material, its flesh, or back side is coated with a quick setting adhesive, as latex cement, and in operating the machine to form plaits in the piece, the rolls 50, 52 are raised to the position of Fig. 17 and the leather is placed on the top edge of the upright plate 40, in the position in which the plait is to be formed and with one edge portion extending in beyond the vertical line of engagement of the rolls. The rolls are then lowered, bending the leather sharply over the plate lill, as shown in Fig. 8, and pressing the leather against the feed roll 30, which then acts to feed it rearward. The opposite portions of the fold thus formed will thus be pressed firmly together by the rolls as it is passed from plate 4U, so that they will be adhesively connected. The fold thus formed will then be carried against the foot 67, the surface of which is so formed that the fold will then be bent transversely, towards the adjacent surface, as indicated in Fig. 9. As the leather is passed rearward beneath the foot 6l, it will be immediately engaged by the rear feed roll 38 and passed beneath the press roll B8, which completes the bending operation which was started by the foot 61, and presses the previously formed fold down at onto the leather surface, as shown in Fig. 10, thereby forming the plait.

A textile tape 12 may, if desired, be fed from beneath the table over the front feed roll 30, so that it will be applied to the flesh side of the leather in a position to cover the crease formed by the fold, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The tape will thus become adhesively attached to the leather at opposite sides of the crease, and will act as a` stay, but, as a rule, the use of the tape is not considered necessary, as the adhesive between the opposite portions of the fold is usually suicient to hold the plait from being pulled open.

The plaits may thus be formed in various ways, as may be desired. For example, they may be formed in parallel rows in close proximity, such formation being permitted by the construction of the rolls 5i), 52, as by forming the rolls in conical shape and mounting them on inclined axes their bottom portions pass in close proximity to the surface of the table only at the point where they engage each other, so that the lower end of roll 5U will not engage a previously formed plait, as shown in Fig. 8. The shield 64 on the lower end of roll 52 prevents contact at its lower end with a previously formed plait.

1f a double, or box plait, is to be formed the construction of the bending plate and forming rolls will be somewhat varied, as shown in Figs. 12, 13 and 14. A vertically disposed bending plate 40a is formed to provide a T-shaped top portion lib, or two oppositely disposed, horizontal transversely projecting ribs at its top, and the rolls 50a, 52h are provided with grooves 50h, 52h in line with said ribs.

As thus arranged, when the leather is drawn over the top of the bending plate, two oppositely disposed folds will be formed therein which will be pushed into the grooves 50h, 52h, as shown in Fig. 12. The foot 66a will be provided with oppositely inclined bottom faces 67a, which will act to bend the two folds down in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 13, and then these folds will be pressed down flat by the cylindrical press roll 68, as shown in Fig. 14. In this instance the opposite portions of the folds will be adhesively connected in the same manner as previously described. The stay tape may be applied, if desired, but is usually not necessary.

If it is desired to bend the single plate to the left, instead of to the right, a foot which is inclined upward to the left may be employed, or a foot similar to that shown in Fig. 13 may be employed, which is adjustable either to the right or left of the middle position.

If an upright rib is to be formed in the leather, the foot 66 and roll B8 will be removed, so that the result indicated in Fig. may be secured, the first part of the operation being the same as that already described. In this instance the bending plate 40 would usually be lowered from the position in which it would be used for forming plaits.

It will be apparent that the depth of the plaits which are to be formed may be varied by varying the height of the bending plate. The forward and rearward adjustment of the bending plate is principally useful in case of variations in the thickness of the leather which is plaited and usually it is adjusted as closely as practical to the bite between the rolls 56, 52.

It will thus be apparent 'that the machine may be employed to make several different formations in the leather, and while the machine is primarily designed for use in plaiting leather,

it may be used for plaiting other sheet material.

Fig. i6 indicates a shoe part in which plaits have been formed in the manner above described.

I claim:

l.. In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, an night bending plate projecting above the sn face of the table, pair of rolls disposed. at opposite sides of said plate and arranged to press together the fold formed by passing the material the top of the plate, and means for feeding the material past .the rolls.

2. In a machine forming plaits in sheet material, a table, an upright bending plate pro-y jecting above the surface of the table in diced relation thereto, a pair of .rolls disposed opposite sides of the plate ano arranged in the rear thereof to press together the fold formed by passing the material above the top of said plate and between said rolls, means in the rear of said rolls for bending the fold transversely onto the adjacent surface of the material and means for feeding the material past said `rolls and fold bending means.

3. In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, an upright bending plate projecting above the surface of the table in fixed relation thereto, a pair of rolls disposed at opposite sides of the plate and arranged in the rear thereof to press together the fold formed by passing the material over the top of said plate and between said rolls, means for bending the fold transversely as it passes out of contact with said rolls, and means for thereafter pressing the fold fiat onto the adjacent surface.

4. In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, an uprightbending plate projecting above the surface of the table in iiixed relation thereto, a pair of rolls disposed at opposite sides of the plate and arranged in the rear thereof to press together the fold formed by passing the material over the top of said plate and between said rolls, means for feeding the material past said rolls and means for adhesively attaching a stay tape to the back side of the material at opposite sides of the crease formed by the fold as the material is fed.

5. In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, an upright bending plate projecting above the surface of the table in fixed relation thereto, a pair of rolls disposed in the rear of, and at opposite sides of said plates, yieldable means for pressing said rolls together to press the opposite portions of the fold together as it is delivered fromy said bending plate, a feed roll located beneath said forming rolls for feeding the material therebetween, a presser foot arranged to engage the fold as it is delivered from said rolls and having an inclined face adapted to bend the fold transversely as the material is fed past the same.

6. In a machine for formingy plaits in sheet material, a table, an upright bending plate projecting above the surface of the table in xed relation thereto, a pair of conically shaped rolls arranged in rolling contact with their line of contact in the vertical plane of said bending plate and in position to receive the material as it is delivered from said plate, yieldable means for pressing said rolls together to press together the opposite portions of the fold as itis passed therebetween, feeding means beneath said rolls, and means ior bending the fold transversely as it is delivered from said rolls.

'2, In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, a vertically disposed bending plate projecting above the surface or" said table and having a horizontally disposed top edge, means for adjusting said plate to vary the height oi said top edge with relation to the surface of the table, a pair of rolls arranged in rolling contact with .their line of contact in the plane plate and in position to press together the opposite portions of a fold in the material formed by drawing the same over` said plate and means for yieldably pressing said rolls together.

In a machine for forming a pair of oppositely disposed plaits in sheet material, a table, a pair of rolls arranged in rolling contact above said table withtheir line of contact disposed in a vertical plane, yieldable means for pressing said rolls together, a bending plate projecting upwardly from said table in front of said rolls and disposed in said vertical plane, said plate having a horizontal rib at its top end extending transn versely at each side thereof, and said rolls each having a groove at the level of said rib, whereby a fold will be formed in the material by each rib which will passinto said grooves as it is fed rearward, means for pressing the folds transversely in opposite directions as they are delivered from said rolls and means for thereafter pressing them dat onto the material.

9, In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, a pair of .rolls arranged in rolling contact above said table, a bending plate pro jecting vertically from said table in front of said rolls and having its top edge extending in a line to intersect the line of contact of said rolls, means to raise said rolls above the level of said top edge, means to separate said rolls while in raised position, and means for yieldably pressing said rolls together when they are lowered.

10. In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, a pair of rolls arranged in rolling contact above said table, a bending plate projecting vertically from said table in front of said rolls and having its top edge extendingin a line to intersect the line of contact of said rolls,

`means to raise said rolls from the table and to separate them as they are raised, and yieldable means constantly acting to press said rolls together.

11. In a machine for forming plaits in sheet material, a table, a bending plate projecting vertically from said table, feeding means at the level of said table and in the rear of said plate, a pair of rolls arranged directly over said feeding means at opposite sides of the plane of said plate, a spring for holding said rolls'in rolling Contact with the line of contact in said plane, a spring for pressing said rolls downwardly to hold the material against said feeding means by pressing the lower ends oi the rolls thereagainst, and means to raise and separate said rolls against the action of said springs.

ALBERT GERMAIN. 

